Progress of the IAHE Nuclear Hydrogen Division on international hydrogen production programs

Abstract

This paper presents recent activities of the IAHE Nuclear Hydrogen Division and associated research advances in Canada, China, France, Germany, Poland, and Romania on programs and major initiatives on large-scale hydrogen production and utilization. Germany and France have made significant advances in high temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE). Germany is going to demonstrate a 3-kW steam electrolyzer and 100-kW Hybrid Sulfur Cycle powered by solar energy soon. France operated several HTSE 25-cell stacks at various operating points. Recently, a HTSE packaged system has been built, containing this 25-cell stack and other Balance of Plant components. At 700 °C, this system produces 1.2 Nm3/h of H2 with a total electrical consumption of 3.9 kWh/Nm3, achieving 92% of efficiency (electrical consumption of the system vs HHV of the produced hydrogen). It demonstrates that a 150 °C heat source temperature is sufficient for the steam generation, and that a slightly exothermic operating mode of the stack is sufficient to preheat the inlet gas up to 700 °C and compensate the heat losses of the system. China has also made significant progress in developing the HTSE process at a hydrogen production rate of 105 dm3/h and the thermochemical Sulfur–Iodine (SI) cycle at the rate of 60 dm3/h, which already achieved the goal of China's HTR-PM Demonstration Nuclear Power Plant Project. The components and facilities were developed and tested in Tsinghua University. Romania is collaborating with Canada on nuclear hydrogen production with the thermochemical Cu–Cl cycle. The individual unit operations of the Cu–Cl cycle have been verified experimentally. Research on integration of a laboratory scale system to produce 3 kg of hydrogen per day is underway at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario. Poland has developed advanced simulation capabilities for Solid Oxide Fuel/Electrolysis Cells for hydrogen peak energy storage as well as laboratory scale experiments focused on solid oxide and molten carbonate fuel cells. This paper presents a review of activities of members of the IAHE Nuclear Hydrogen Division in these six countries.